Setting Up Various Facebook Pages – Know The Types!
By the summer of 2009, Facebook came with a few new profiles: personal pages, community pages, and public profiles. The three are distinct, and even within the public profiles, one has a number of choices about the kind of public profile one wishes to establish. There were some issues (surprise!) when the features were first added, but by now many of the kinks have been smoothed out. A little research before you start clicking can go a long way though, because if you start your page in a ‘wrong’ category, all you can do is delete that page and start over, an unpleasant prospect. But please read on and hopefully we can clarify some of the jargon.
Popularity: 1% | Category Community, Education: Technology, Marketing, Media Review, Nonprofit, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
The Keyword is “Social” – The Medium is Just the Means
From the study by Boyd and Ellison
We continue our week-long series on Facebook with a brief look at what ‘social media’ means. We make no claims of thoroughness in but one blog post. Indeed, some have taken entire academic semesters to explore the field. What we hope to present here are some common sense approaches to envisioning and contextualizing the social-media phenomenon of the last 4-5 years. In fact, a quick timeline will help put some perspective on the topic: The first widely accepted social-networking site was ‘SixDegrees.com,’ which was founded in 1998 and closed its site in 2000 during the Dot Com Bust. Though similar sites allowing the posting of personal profiles and the searching and liking of others via one’s profile percolated up in the intervening 2-3 years, it was only in 2003 that services like Last.FM, LinkedIn.com, and MySpace.com took off and the so-called ‘Social Media Revolution’ took off. Twitter was still three years away at that time! In other words, we are all new to this medium, and what sites will survive with which services is still an open question. (Time line taken from the scholarly study “Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship,” by Danah M. Boyd, School of Information,University of California-Berkeley; and Nicole B. Ellison, Department of Telecommunication, Information Studies, and Media at Michigan State University. Humans wrote on clay and stone for thousands of years before parchment replaced it for many centuries before paper replaced that some 700 years ago. Social media are still in the zygote stage, by comparison, which makes predicting their mature characteristics almost impossible.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Marketing, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Facebook Has 500 Million Users, Not 500 Million Fans
Yesterday we saw some of the early history of Facebook and how that history might be pumped up by the movie “The Social Network,” due out this fall. The CEO and one of the inventors of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg, seems comfortably nonplussed about the movie’s sexy spin on his and his friends’ efforts. But other concerns about the future surely do weigh on the young man who recently watched his website and company surpass 500 million subscribers. In fact, one of the awkward facts about Facebook is that it is by far the most used social-networking site, yet it is also the most griped about. Most recently: changes in privacy settings left users requiring to comb back through settings to opt out of new modes of sharing and even opt back out of what they had previously established as hidden information. Numerous consumer advocacy groups have cried ‘foul!’ and are challenging the practice. The movie might only sour further an already jaded relationship between users and the company.
Popularity: unranked | Category Marketing, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
For The Week: Social Media Focus On Facebook
Are you one of the 500 million?
A purely alpha-betic writing established itself in the eastern Mediterranean about 3300 years ago, which marked a seminal shift away from ‘pre-history’ and towards documentation, institutional memory, and social media. We will not be tracing the evolution of writing from proto-Sinaic carvings or Phoenician tablets to Adobe’s Creative Suite 5, but we would like to look at the evolution (or what many might call a ‘revolution’) of the social-media behemoth that is Facebook. Though not the first social medium (Don’t forget Napster, especially in its pre/extra-legal days!), it has become the king of the hill with its profiles and searches and synergies with so many other networks (like Twitter). Facebook recently broke 500 million subscribers, and it brags that over 50% of those subscribers are on Facebook at any given time. Impressive numbers and a market teeming with customers, clients, donors, and ad-hoc NGOs.
But Facebook has had growing pains as well. Security and privacy concerns for its users, a plethora of competitors (admittedly, many bubble up and fall away at a speed surprising even in the age of the 24-hour news cycle), and even the possibility that the CEO of Facebook, Mark Zukerberg does not even own Facebook. All this week we shall be looking at the Facebook phenomenon, as well as offering some tips and caveats for those considering using the social network as part of their personal and/or professional lives. We begin our saga with the recent media frenzy concerning the Facebook biopic/movie, and the allegations of Facebook having been stolen and/or sold away by Zuckerberg.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Media Review, News and Current Affairs, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Social Media Offers Reception, Not Just Dissemination, of Ideas
Social Media Is For Reading, Too
How many of us, individuals, organizations, and small businesses, have shied away from getting involved with social media because we were not sure we had much to say? How many of us have quietly sublimated a sense of distrust of what we could contribute into an unwillingness to learn about social media? I have, for one. The open seas of social media can seem vast, rough, and uncharted (if not ‘unchartable’!), and from the seashore it can seem safer not wade in. Nevertheless, we have often posted on this blog ideas about how to dip a toe, then a leg, etc., into the ocean – get acclimated, then get writing with what you are comfortable sharing with a wide audience that can become wider still with some patience. But a recent blog posting from Neil Vidyarthi on SocialTimes.com cleverly points out that social media can, and should, be as much about reading/learning as it is about writing/teaching.
Popularity: unranked | Category Marketing, Media Review, Tweets, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Twitter Continues To Set World Cup Records, And Now Sets Places
Twitter's World Cup Home Page
It should no revelation that we have been following the World Cup in South Africa here at MKCREATIVE. But we also have been following the ways social media have had an impact on the event – at least the sharing of news about the event – as an example of how the strategic use of social media could benefit your organization. Well, the global influence that is football (er, ‘soccer’) can now be seen in the use of Twitter as well. We reported about two weeks ago that the biggest blast of tweets came after the US vs. England match (tied 1-1), though was quickly followed and beaten by the Lakers’ 7th-game victory over the Celtics in the NBA championship. A conclusion to be drawn from these back-to-back record breakers was the intense Ameri-centric use of Twitter. But no more…
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Marketing, Software Review, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Toshiba Reinvents Tablet To Tweak The Portable Market
We discussed the Apple iPad a couple of months ago as the product that could transform expectations of the tablet/portable/cloud computing world. Well, eighty days into the product launch, and 3 million iPads later, the market is soon to get another competitor: the Toshiba Libretto. Neither is/will be the first into the market, but Apple’s iPad has proven itself the game-changer many expected. What are some of the early reports on the Libretto?
Popularity: unranked | Category Hardware Review, Software Review, Technology, iDevice | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
The Costs (Possibly Real) Of Advertising Via Facebook
A recent report from the Reuters and Socialbeat believes that revenues at Facebook topped $800 million in 2009, well over the (high-end) estimates of $700 million. Facebook is a privately owned company that need not report its precise numbers to shareholders, but Reuters talked with sources within the company who said the income far surpassed the mid-year estimates stated by Facebook board member Marc Andreessen. With some 500 million members (by far the most popular social network site in the US, and with ever-growing allegiances through much of the world), Facebook makes most of its income via advertising. The question is: how much are advertisers willing to pay to reach those millions via their Facebook accounts?
Popularity: unranked | Category Marketing, Media Review, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
iPad Indeed Inspires Nonprofit Community
Just before Apple’s iPad first launched in early April, the MKCREATIVE blog presented a two-part discussion of how the device specifically and the advent of a truly functioning tablet market/community generally should be taken seriously by the nonprofit community. The iPad’s convenience as a communications tool, we argued, meant that nonprofits and mission-based companies could, and should, take steps to ramp up their social-media presence in an effort to reach out to early adapters. And the simplicity and robustness of Apple design (both hardware and software), we believed, guaranteed that early adapters would be able to convince even those not quite sure they were ready to make the jump to a touch-screen/in-the-purse-or-bookbag experience. Well, just 28 days and, oh, one million iPads later, folks across the aforementioned community are making use of the opportunities the technology presents.
Popularity: unranked | Category Apple, Nonprofit, Software Review, iDevice | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Social Networks and Social Media: Let The Latter
Tap Into The Former
The TED (Technology, Education, Design) website has recently posted Nicholas Christakis’s talk entitled “The Hidden Influence of Social Networks,” which we repost here for your consideration. His research began with the topic of obesity, but he has developed a model of social connectivity that affects our political and emotional behavior as much as our eating habits.
How might social media tap into and/or develop such social networks?
Popularity: unranked | Category Marketing, Media Review, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Consumer Protection Agency Drifts
From Public Discourse
The media (with good reason) have concentrated recently on the tragic oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the pseudo-grilling Goldman Sachs got by Congresspeople desperate to look tough to their constituents, and the British election that has resulted in a hung Parliament. Discussion of the formation of a Consumer Protection Agency has drifted off the radar, which we believe is unfortunate. Indeed, yesterday’s plunge-and-slight-recovery on Wall Street surely argues for the need of such an agency because so much of our economy runs on our faith in trades done in traders’ computers on our behalf. The notion of such an agency is hardly foreign to our economy. Every state has has one form or another of a CPA ready to hear appeals and offer services. But will the states lead the way to the federal level, as California did for car emissions?
Popularity: unranked | Category Book Review, National/International, News and Current Affairs, Opinion, Politics, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Roundup Of Some Social Media Developments
(Part 2 of 2): The Experts
Yesterday we outlined some success stories of philanthropic and social-action groups who have been able to leverage social media to help with fundraising. As promised, today we look at the backside of some social media developments, and it is not always pretty. The truth of the matter is, many have built up claims to be social-media experts, but most of them are promoters of self, not strategists who can help your organization move through the wealth of opportunity (and desultory time-wasting) made possible by the technology. The self-appointed Expert receives a good deal of roasting in any profession, but the grilling of the social-media guru can be pretty hot. And why not? She/he is being called out by the very producers of content (and the consumers) who he/she claims to be able to help.
Popularity: unranked | Category Education: Technology, Media Review, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Roundup Of Some Social Media Developments
(Part 1 of 2)
Facebook has gotten most of the press lately, and the MKCREATIVE blog discussed some of that buzz earlier this week. Facebook’s staff seek to build and weave together the new ‘Social Graphs’ of one’s “Friends” with the use of the already nearly-ubiquitous “Like” button. But another site is under development by Chris Hugues (one of the founding developers of Facebook) that seems to have similar ambitions within the world of mission-based businesses and philanthropy groups. That site is Jumo.com, a name meant to convey ‘working together.’ Though not the first site to try to bring together these constituencies, the knowhow of Mr. Hugues and his colleagues in the area of social networking might give Jumo a big jump once it is presented some time this fall. One can register an email online to get updates (and, of course, to register one’s ‘Like’ of the site) as they progress.
How has social networking fared as a qualitative and quantitative part of the philanthropic and mission-based communities?
Popularity: unranked | Category Media Review, Nonprofit, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Folks Like Facebook And Facebook Links the Likes
Back in March we posted access to a wonderful video sendup of the Fox News/Glen Beck phenomenon – a video that can, if you allow it, tap into your Facebook information to have you stand at the center of the conspiracy working to bring Communism to the United States. After the cackles died down (and the secret handshakes of the Illuminati were shared), we at MKCREATIVE wondered about the privacy implications of such a video. One short-term point we made, and one that bears repeating, is that by enjoying the video with our own mugs and friends-as-co-conspirators we are simply drawing from information we have already chosen to make public about ourselves. But the possibility of our semi-private (pseudo-private?) information running away from our control has been further heightened by Facebook’s latest move to have us link our likes around the net – what CEO Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook calls the ‘Social Graph‘: “We’re building toward a web where the default is social. Every application and product will be redesigned from the ground up to use a person’s real identity and friends.” Who will vouch for that ‘real identity’ and what will be bought and sold with the information linked are but two questions worth asking.
Popularity: unranked | Category Education: Technology, Software Review, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
iPad is Released, And Mobile Computing Grows That Bit More Important
Apple's iPad Launches April 2, 2010
A few weeks ago we posted a two-part preview on Apple’s latest device, the iPad, and (perhaps more importantly) how such a device will move the computing world towards portable devices and ‘cloud computing.’ Well, the day has arrived, and the iPad is on the launching pad. Stores will be presenting it Saturday, so get in line early.
The MKCREATIVE team have not had the honor of receiving a prototype (although we will be testing it at our local Apple store in Towson, Maryland on launch day), and we will make no claims about the device beyond what the reviewers have to say. Our two go-to reviewers are David Pogue at The New York Times, and Walt Mossberg at The Wall Street Journal, but other professional tech reviewers have weighed in with their own experiences. But one reviewer whose more – shall we say “humanist”? – approach might provide a key to how the nonprofit community should embrace this technology.
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Recent Developments in Website Design – Part III:
The Finished Product
The homepage of 'Dogtrust.org.uk' - Clear contrasts, distinct boxes of information, and cuddly puppies!
We have discussed the developments of CSS3 and some of the quick and easy ways to make websites accessible to the visually impaired. The technologies and evolution of code outlined these last couple of postings are meant to introduce you to some of the considerations your organization should have as you decide to refresh or redo your online presence. Indeed, as we are teased with signs of spring (at least in the Chesapeake Bay region), why not enjoy some clean and spritely websites that follow some of the best practices outlined here?
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Media Review, Site Administration, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Recent Developments in Website Design – Part II: Accessibility
Yesterday we outlined how the new protocols for Cascading Style Sheets (CSS3) will open up a whole world of font to allow organizations and outreach groups opportunity to provide consistent font faces across print and web publication. But having the text presented by fonts, rather than by images of words (Try selecting the logo or the tagline at the very top of Clipart4you.com), does more than open up a treasure trove of toys for your design staff. It also opens up your organization’s work to the growing numbers of visually impaired users of the net.
Popularity: unranked | Category Marketing, Media Review, Site Administration, Technology, Web and Print | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Recent Developments in Website Design – Part I: Fonts
Expanding Available Web Fonts with CSS3
We start this week with a consideration of recent developments in website design for charities and nonprofits. This blog (along with, well, most every design blog out there) has often commented on the need for nonprofits, charities, and mission-based businesses to extend their web presence wherever possible. Much of the point of social networking applications (think: Facebook, Twitter, Buzz!, etc.) is to promote timely information in a quick and concise manner. The presentation of that information is largely dictated by the servers and software that run the various applications and sites (though some basic modification and theme installation is available). Visually, what much of the audience is looking for when plugging into these sites is pretty standardized – which is especially true for those looking at sites presented by businesses and charities, rather by 20-somethings and their friends’ bands. But when people are looking for the dedicated website of their favorite causes or projects, their expectations are higher, and organization needs to raise their presentation game accordingly.
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Low-Cost to Free Technologies for Nonprofits
Applicant Manager Overview from WizeHive on Vimeo.
In these tough economic times, we are all looking for ways to lower costs while keeping up productivity. The trick is to do so without getting into a state of confusion over cut corners or depending on sticky notes all over the wall. One great way to keep the nonprofit office organized while not shelling out too much for the privilege is with the fabulous application & grant management system by Wizehive. For as little as $75 a month your organization can keep up with 200 applications among up to 10 reviewers & writers. Land the big grant, expand the package rate, and have up to 1000 applications to share, comment upon, and store with an unlimited staff. It is a project-management system inexpensive to use and ready to expand with your organization. But wait (as a famous CEO says every year or so), there’s just one more thing.
Popularity: unranked | Category Community, Nonprofit, Reviews, Software Review, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
CEOs and social media – a strong combination?
A new technology is invariably difficult to put down for the fearless first adopters. Those who move more slowly toward that technology might feel intimidation from those who adopted early and have since honed their skills. Those who waited might also begin to ask if adoption is even necessary. Such a dynamic might be especially acute in the world of social media, almost invariably multi-million-dollar enterprises that began as projects for recent college grads. But as social media head toward a certain maturity and expectation, are such networks really useful for corporate entities and/or their boards?
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Google’s Experimental Fiberoptic Network: Coming to Your Community?
Google, makers of Android, Chrome, GMail & GMaps (merely touching the surface), has announced plans for a 1 GB/sec fiberoptic network, and the company has petitioned for communities to present Requests for Information (RFI) by 26 March. According to Google’s press release, the company has been working with federal agencies since last summer to channel ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) monies into developing fiberoptic cable, and are now striking out on their own to develop a test-case. Could your community be that beneficiary? Town and city governments are encouraged to apply, of course, but the site also points out that individuals can nominate their communities as well:
Popularity: unranked | Category Hardware Review, News and Current Affairs, Technology | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Audi’s ‘Green Police’ Ad: Not Just Another Pot Shot at the Green Movement
Repost of original article by Leo Hickman, Feb 8, 2010, guardian.co.uk
Mmm, I wonder if Will Ferrell and his comedy compatriots at Funnyordie.com saw Audi’s Super Bowl ad (Sunday)? If they did, then they might have recognised the ad’s satirical vision of a world patrolled by the “green police”.
The reason being that they made virtually the same joke – scoring far more laughs in the process – in their Green Team video a couple of years ago. (more…)
Popularity: unranked | Category Automobiles, Climate Change, Greening, Marketing, Media Review, Sustainability | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
A review of iPad reviews (Pt. 2)
Yesterday we saw some of the challenges, criticisms, and bawdy jokes tossed at the iPad. Today we turn to some of the reviews and ideas that could well make the iPad the kind of ‘game-changer’ that even Windows users expect of Apple. (more…)
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
A review of iPad reviews (Pt. 1)
Rumors of an iTablet/iSlate/iPad from Apple, Inc. have been circulating for a few years now. Therefore, the announcement of the iPad at the end of January felt less shocking – less ‘magical’ – for many than previous releases (I can still hear the gasps as the iPhone came out of Steve’s pocket in 2007). Now that a bit of the dust has settled, MKCREATIVE wanted to offer a roundup of some of the comments on the iPad, and to suggest some points that non-profits and community groups might want to consider about the product and about what it might mean for the near future. (more…)
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Matrox & Apple teach their video technology
Communication and design take on many media, of course. For those involved with video production, Matrox (makers of H.264 video encoders) and Apple Inc. (with a focus on Final Cut Pro) team up to teach ways to improve workflows. The tour list now includes 10 cities around the country, with perhaps more to be added. (more…)
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Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
How new media is encouraging social change
The Hatcher Group have just released a great report on how non-profits have been using social media to build support and to call to action their supporters. The report is based on surveys and interviews held with thirty non-profits to see how they are using such new media as blogs, Twitter, and Facebook. (more…)
Popularity: 1% | Category Book Review, Grants and Funding, Marketing, Nonprofit | | View Comments
Written by: Christopher Gardner, Ph. D
Graphic Design : Visual Comparisons
Graphic Design : Visual Comparisons (by Pentagram founders, Alan Fletcher, Colin Forbes, and Bob Gill) is used at the MKCREATIVE Design studio to remind ourselves what great design is about and why we strive to create it. This collection of designs, logos, headlines, and conceptual pieces is a reminder that sometimes “less is more” and that the most effective solution is not always the most obvious.
From the introduction (1963 paperback edition), “…The vast majority of advertisements, posters, television commercials, booklets and other printed matter clutter our environment and insult our intelligence.
And besides, they are so monumentally boring.
There are, however, some designers and even clients who insist that the public deserve and will respond to much higher standards in graphics. They are convinced, as Charlie Chaplin was convinced, that the best way to entertain the public is to first entertain oneself.”
I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Popularity: 90% | Category Book Review | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
In Print : Text and Type in the Age of Desktop Publishing
In Print … is a little dated but I’ve found it a useful as introductory text for junior production artists and interns who have little or no real-work production experience.
Written before desktop publishing became the norm for the communications, advertising, and marketing sectors, “In Print” helps the student of graphic design understand the fundamentals associated with modern typography and typesetting. With this “old school” knowledge, junior designers are more likely to create typographical treatments that communicate and illuminate.
From the introduction, “… Alex Brown’s discussion of typography is a compelling reference. Rich in visual detail, the book provides in-depth information about classification of typefaces…. (it) gathers in one volume, all the historical, technical, and historical information print communicators need… Brown also discusses the correction cycle in the context of both traditional and desktop technology; and offers approaches to proofing and text handling to eliminate and reduce corrections.”
Popularity: 87% | Category Book Review | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
Illuminated Manuscripts : Treasures of The Pierpoint Morgan Library
Illuminated Manuscripts… is a pocket-size collection of medieval and renaissance paintings typically found in books, bibles, scientific works, and the “how-to” reference guides of the day.
This particular volume has seen much use at the MKCREATIVE Design studio. It’s a rich source of inspiration and ideas – we are forever referring to it for guidance and direction. It’s also an interesting window into the lives of those of have gone before us in glorious, vibrant colour.
From the introduction, “…They are like museums between the covers of books and constitute the largest surviving body of painting from this period….(and) since they are parts of books much can also be learned about how earlier men and women lived, what they wrote, read, and thought, and how they used and contributed to knowledge.”
Popularity: 78% | Category Book Review | | View Comments
Written by: Marco K.
Permission Marketing : Turning Strangers Into Friends And Friends Into Customers
After “Purple Cow“, “Permission Marketing…“, a marketing-bible in your pocket, is a must-read. It defined a new marketing paradigm (back in 1999) but is still as relevant today as the “right” way to develop a marketing strategy for the world on Web 3.0 if you want your business to be successful. In a world where hulu, YouTube, Facebook, MySpace, and iTunes are more relevant than network television, his recipe for success rings true: engage your customers, draw them into your world, develop a long-term relationship with them and marketshare will follow.
“Seth Godin, one of the world’s foremost online promoters, offers his best advice for advertising in Permission Marketing. Godin argues that businesses can no longer rely solely on traditional forms of “interruption advertising” in magazines, mailings, or radio and television commercials. He writes that today consumers are bombarded by marketing messages almost everywhere they go. If you want to grab someone’s attention, you first need to get his or her permission with some kind of bait–a free sample, a big discount, a contest, an 800 number, or even just an opinion survey. Once a customer volunteers his or her time, you’re on your way to establishing a long-term relationship and making a sale. “By talking only to volunteers, Permission Marketing guarantees that consumers pay more attention to the marketing message,” he writes. “It serves both customers and marketers in a symbiotic exchange.”
Popularity: 79% | Category Book Review, Marketing | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco K.
Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking
I read Blink on a plane to London last year and was thoroughly taken with Gladwell’s thesis: that the brain works very quickly to analyse information and come to a conclusion that informs us through the medium of “a feeling” or a “gut instinct” — all of this taking place in a few seconds and on a sub-conscious level.
“Blink is about the first two seconds of looking–the decisive glance that knows in an instant. Gladwell, the best-selling author of The Tipping Point, campaigns for snap judgments and mind reading with a gift for translating research into splendid storytelling. Building his case with scenes from a marriage, heart attack triage, speed dating, choking on the golf course, selling cars, and military maneuvers, he persuades readers to think small and focus on the meaning of “thin slices” of behavior. The key is to rely on our “adaptive unconscious”–a 24/7 mental valet–that provides us with instant and sophisticated information to warn of danger, read a stranger, or react to a new idea.”
Popularity: 77% | Category Book Review | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco K.
Purple Cow : Transform Your Business By Being Remarkable
Purple Cow kicked-off my investigation into the “new” approach to marketing: offer something great — a service, a product, an idea — and then develop a permission-based marketing plan (as opposed to traditional “interruption-based” forms) to reach out to new customers turning them from “strangers into friends”.
“The world is changing ever more rapidly, and the rules of marketing are no different, writes Godin, the field’s reigning guru. The old ways-run-of-the-mill TV commercials, ads in the Wall Street Journal and so on-don’t work like they used to, because such messages are so plentiful that consumers have tuned them out. This means you have to toss out everything you know and do something “remarkable” (the way a purple cow in a field of Guernseys would be remarkable) to have any effect at all, writes Godin (Permission Marketing; Unleashing the Ideavirus).”
Popularity: 71% | Category Book Review, Marketing | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco K.
Idea Index: A Portable Guide
Idea Index is a great series we’d like to recommend. This edition is particularly useful when a designer needs to brainstorm different looks and approaches and is pressed for time.
From the dust-jacket: “Don’t let the size fool you. Inside you’ll discover thousands of big ideas for graphic effects and type treatments—via hundreds of prompts designed to stimulate, quicken and expand your creative thinkingâ€.
Popularity: 67% | Category Book Review | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco K.
Layout Index: A Portable Design Guide
Layout Index is a great series we’d like to recommend. This edition is particularly useful when a designer finds themselves in-a-pinch for design solutions while away from the studio.
From the dust-jacket: “Don’t let the size fool you, Layout Index packs a wallop of inspiration and insight, everything you need is a handy, take-it-along-with-you-everywhere size”.
Popularity: 60% | Category Book Review | | Comments Off
Written by: Marco K.